IU men’s tennis lost to Northwestern this weekend, its first outdoor home match of the season. The Wildcats defeated the Hoosiers 4-0.
“Even though we didn’t win, we all fought really hard,” senior Andrew Redding said. “Our effort was there, we had good attitudes, and we gave it everything we had. I don’t think anyone has anything to hang their head about, we just have to learn from what we could’ve done better.”
Freshman Ilya Tiraspolsky and graduate student William Piekarsky kicked off the match with a 6-4 victory at No. 3 doubles for IU. Northwestern answered back, coming up victorious at No. 1 and No. 2 and clinching the doubles point. Junior Patrick Fletchall and Redding lost 7-6 (7-5), while graduate student Bennett Crane and sophomore Luka Vukovic lost 7-6 (7-2).
“The doubles came down to the very end, to the tiebreakers,” Redding said. “On other courts, we had third set people fighting back from being down. I put it as it just wasn’t our day.”
Northwestern got off to a fiery start, jumping to a 2-0 lead as Fletchall fell 6-4, 6-1 at No. 6 singles. Junior Vikash Singh lost in two sets as well, going 7-5, 6-1 at No. 4 singles.
Redding battled at No. 2 singles but fell in two sets, going 7-6 (7-1), 6-4. This loss sealed the match for the Wildcats.
Crane, junior Carson Haskin and Vukovic each pushed their No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 singles matches to three sets, but they were left unfinished.
“The biggest thing I noticed was Luka and Carson both lost their first sets but then fought really hard back to win their second sets,” Redding said. “Having them there pushing for that and getting even set-wise was really big for the team and the atmosphere.”
This is the 82nd time the two programs have met since their first matchup in 1930. The loss puts IU’s all-time record at exactly .500 against Northwestern, with each team posting 41 victories.
IU hits the road next weekend, facing Wisconsin on March 26 and Minnesota on March 28. The Hoosiers look to continue a two-match win streak against the Badgers and end a two-match losing streak with the Gophers.
“We’re thinking of it as a must-win for this next match, for the next two matches,” Redding said. “The mindset is that we’re expecting to win and just leave it at that, nothing else. We’re going to go get the job done and come back.”
